How to mount a antenna in a tree?

Use antenna brackets designed for mounting to roof vent pipes. I think Radio Shack sells them. They can be turned at offset angles to compensate for branches that are not perfectly vertical. Depending on your application you may want to use 4 of these rather then just a pair.

 

id attach it to a 10 ft pipe and attach the pipe to the tree with a coax choke at the feed-point . if you want to provide earth ground for it you'll need a run of heavy gauge copper wire long enough to reach the rod .

 

A local guy that I helped out put a Imax in a 50 ft pine tree. I told him to add a 10 ft piece of mast to the Imax. This allowed the antenna clearance above the highest point of the tree. Works just great when the mast is added. Party due to the fact that the antenna itself has no RF counterpoise/ground plane. The mast is needed for that purpose.

Also told him to wind a simple RF choke using 5 winds of the coax around an empty 2 liter bottle just below the masting. He mounted the mast by drilling 3 holes in it and putting some lag screws to attach it to the tree. Worked out just fine.

One must keep in mind, that it is very difficult to deal with an antenna and a piece of mast, as the 34 ft of overall length it now has presents a lot of leverage and is VERY hard to handle. He did the mast drilling on the ground. He assembled the antenna and mast and slid it up the tree and used a bungee cord (solid rubber type) wrapped around the mast/tree to hold it in place while he maneuvered it into the place that he wanted it. He then slid in the lag screws one at a time and ratcheted them into the tree. He also used some large hose clamps as well. A dangerous maneuver; not for the faint of heart or those who aren't very careful working with heights.

His station has one of the strongest signals in the San Jose Area - BTW.. .

 

I have done a few antenna in the tree set ups over the years, I use back to back strut and size the clamps that go around the tree. Strut is used in the electrical and plumbing fields so if you know someone you might get some for free, if not it can be purchased.

 

That penetrater instal looks nice

 

You have a good eye for antennas one photo has a Penatrator the other is later photo with a gain master.

 

Find one of your most gullible friends then add beer and you're golden.:laugh:

 

Very, very carefully.